Chasing Chloe
by JackChloeFan
Summary: Chloe is tired of being Jack's go-to-girl and seeing him with another woman. So she decides to leave CTU and Jack's life. But of course Jack is not gonna make that easy for Chloe and it leads to catastrophic results.
1. Chapter 1

She was frantically collecting her things, putting stuff in her backbag, almost throwing them in. It would be obvious to every one who watched her that she was in a big hurry. It would seem to them as if she was running from something or someone.

She got her things together and turned to leave, only to see her boss standing in the doorway.

"I don't have time for the lectures. I have to catch a plane" she tried to walk past him, but was stopped in her tracks. She looked away from him.

"Are you sure you want to do this, Chloe? Have you thought about him? What it's going to do to him? "

She turned to face him and said blankly, "I can't do this anymore." With that she walked by him and started towards the exit when she heard his last words.

"You are making a mistake, Chloe".

Bill's words were echoing in her mind. Tears stung to her eyes and for a moment she felt like crying. But she knew that there was no time and continued through the hallways of CTU. She knew that Jack got back from his mission any minute now and if he were to spot her leaving like that, it would all be over.

Unfortunatly for her, he was already back to CTU. When she walked by the main room, she spotted him talking to an analyst. He didn't see her as he ha his back on her. She panicked and fastened her steps, at the same time knowing that it could very well be the last time she ever saw him. He seemed so happy, the mission went well and things looked good for him and Audrey. But still, she knew him. She might not be the love of his life but all hell would break loose when he found out about her leaving. And it broke her heart to million pieces thinking that she was going to put him through that kind of pain. But she reminded herself quickly that she had to stay strong to go through with the plan.

She managed to get out of his sight and continue her way out of the building.

"Ok, thanks Stacy, send the data to my screen," and he walked away from the analyst towards the situation room where Bill was just heading to.

"Bill, where is Chloe? I can't find her. She was suppose to be waiting for me."

"She left, Jack" Bill answered bluntly and with that he went to the situation room, leaving a confused Jack behind.

"What do you mean she left? Left for home already? She wouldn't do that if she promised to wait for me." Jack has followed Bill inside and fear was evident in his voice.

"No, she didn't leave for home, Jack. She left for good."

"What? What are you talking about, Bill? What do you mean by left for good? When? Why? What happened?"

"You happened, Jack," Bill let out a sigh, acknowledging that is not the time. "She left a minute ago," he stated, knowing very well what he was going to do.

Jack ran out of the situation room to the main floor.

"Stacy, check the surveillance cameras, try to locate Chloe. She should still be in the building"

"On it," and the analyst started typing.

Bill came out of the situation room, hoping Jack wouldn't go too far with this.

"She is still in the building but not for long. She is about to go past the security." Stacy showed the video feed to Jack whose wheels started spinning in his head.

"Bill, tell the security not to let Chloe out of the building."

"What? Are you crazy? I can't treat her like a suspect just because you two have issues to work out."

Jack drew his gun and pointed at Bill. "Tell the security not to let her get away," he repeated his request with a deadpan voice.

"Okay, alright, Jack. But it's not going to end well."

Jack started to run towards the exit while hearing Bill give the order out.

Bill gave the order just when Chloe had gotten past security and was exiting the building. She could hear Bill's voice and her name and started running. She ran towards her cab that was parked just outside. She could see the security guards following her and she couldn't believe he did that. He had actually made them treat her like a suspect. But at the same time she could see the desperation in his actions and understood him.

She didn't know whose side god was on, but to her it looked like it was her day because she got to the taxi just in time to see him getting out of the building and running after her taxi, calling her to stop the car. She heard him yelling "dammit" and saw him starting towards his car, knowing that by the time he started the engine, she'd be out of his sight. But she knew the drill of what was going to go down next. After all, she had done the same thing with many, many suspects. There was going to be a witch hunt through the streets of LA. It was ironic, she thought to herself, that now she was treated like a suspect and treated as one by the one man she loves the most in this world.

"Driver, there is going to be a freeway overpass a few miles away under which I want you to stop" she gave the cab driver her destination mark. She knew that to get away, she had to go as fast as Jack, if not faster, and that meant she had to be the one behind the wheel. And of course there was the fact that they knew the cab she was driving with and were following it, so she had to switch the cars to buy time. She had planned this the whole day, nothing could go wrong. Chloe knew how he operates and she thought that she could beat him in his own game.

"Stacy, are you tracking Chloe's cab already?"

"Yes, Jack, she is 5 miles ahead of you. Wait…"

"What, what is going on?"

"She just went under a freeway overpass and hasn't come out yet although she should be."

"Dammit, she stopped. Probably to switch cars. Can you determine the car she switched to?"

"I might, but it's going to take a bit"

"Just do it as quickly as you possibly can".

Jack continued to drive, added to speed and hoped that he would catch her. How could he not, he had done it a million times and was better at it than her. There was no way she would get away, he said to himself, assuring himself that he would win this little game that they were playing.

"I'm under the overpass right now and there is no sign of the cab or any other cars. So one car that came out didn't go under it a few seconds before. Identify the car." He almost yells the last sentence to Stacy.

"I have it, Jack. The car is blue Honda Accord with a license plate 5BBM299. The cap between you two is about 2-3 miles. But she's going pretty fast."

"Ok, I'm going add to speed then."

"Be careful. The cap is getting smaller, you should have a visual soon, only…"Stacy stopped, shocked at what she saw on the screen.

"What? What do you see?" Jack almost yelled, demanding to know what made Stacy so shocked.

"It appears that she got into a car accident and it doesn't look good. I'm sending ambulance right now."

"Oh my god," was all Jack could say, fearing the worst.

When he reached the crash site, he saw just how bad it was. At least five cars were involved and it looked like a big mess. But he didn't pay attention to the other cars when he noticed hers. The car was upside down and didn't really resemble the kind of a car it once was. He quickly ran to it and reached down to get her out. The sight he saw would probably haunt him forever. Her face was so bloody that it took him time to be sure that it was really her. He quickly touched her neck to see if there was any pulse and was relieved to find it. But she was stuck some way and he couldn't get her out. Then something else got his attention –leaking gas and the car getting on fire. He went to the other side of the car to get her out from there, his movements getting frantic. It took him for what felt like an hour to get her out, at the same thinking that every second this car could explode. For a second he even thought about afterlife. That he would probably go to hell and she would go to heaven. On a normal day it would probably amuse him but that was not the time. When he finally got her out, he took her in his arms and moved away from the car, not getting very far before the car exploded.


	2. Chapter 2

She opened her eyes slowly but closed them quickly because the brightness hurt her eyes. She tried to open them again and this time it was easier to adapt to the light. She saw the ceiling and her eyes moved to the door as she heard voices coming from that direction. Two nurses came in and were really shocked at her watching back at them. Soon there were a lot of people with white coats and when she tried to listen what they are saying to each other, she only heard fragments like "I thought she was a goner", "Nearly five years have passed", "It's remarkable". She got really upset by what she heard and one of the machines started beeping instantly which got the attention of the nurses and doctors in the hospital room.

JCJCJC

His phone was ringing for minutes now but he didn't answer. When he finally did, he shouted to the phone, "WHAT?"

"Jack, It's Bill. The hospital just called. She woke up."

The blond woman in his bed lifted her head just to see him get out the door. She didn't wonder about it for long and didn't really care. After all, they weren't really in a relationship, she was just someone he wanted to fuck once in a while. He's such a basket case that she was afraid what she might find if she dug any deeper in his soul. She got dressed and before leaving, wrote him a note to call her when he wanted it again and wrote "Stacy" under the message.

He arrived at the hospital, only to be greeted by Bill.

"Jack, you look like hell," the older man commented his appearance as if he was seeing it for the first time. Only he didn't. Jack had been like that ever since that day, rarely getting himself appear like a decent person. But for some reason, today Bill actually acknowledged it as if those five years never happened.

"I want to see her," said Jack with no emotion.

"Jack, you can't right now. She's very upset because she just found out how long she has been in coma. It was really devastating for her. We don't know what her reaction to seeing you might be, to seeing any of us."

Bill saw something flicker in his otherwise emotionless face. It was like for the first time since that day he actually let his pain be visible to others, even if only for a second.

"Jack, you have to give her time. You have waited for nearly five years. What difference does a few more days make?" It seemed to Bill that he was really considering his request, only to find it a red herring as he quickly started towards her room. But he couldn't get far as he was surrounded with CTU agents and tazered by one of them.

It was hard, keeping them apart, even for a little while longer, Bill was thinking to himself, but he couldn't let Jack's eagerness get in the way of her healing. Right now he didn't think she could handle the emotions what seeing Jack would cause her.

JCJCJC

Having been sedated and sleeping for a few days after waking up from coma, Chloe felt a certain calmness when seeing a familiar face pop his head in from the door of her hospital room.

"Hi, Mr. Buchanon," she greeted him and let a small smile come to her face, obviously glad to see him.

Bill had flowers with him which he put to the footboard of her bed and pulled a chair to sit at her bed. He leaned in closer to her and took her right hand in his hands.

"Hi, Chloe," he smiled and at the same wanted to cry not believing she has really woken up, "Welcome back".

Now tears fell down Chloe's face when she said. "It doesn't feel like five years, Mr. Buchanon. It seems like yesterday when I decided to take my fate into my own hands. Oh my God. You were right about that. I ended up making the worst mistake of my life. And now I have lost five years of my life just like that," her voice was hoarse and she talked very slowly.

"Chloe, that's not true. That's not what I meant by those words. No one, I mean, no one could have expected it to go like that. But you have got to stop this and think about your recovery. It's gonna be a long way but it's what you have to focus on." Silence fell to the room for a moment as he looked at her hand in his hands and she stared at the ceiling.

"How is he?" Chloe turned to face Bill whose face changed so that she knew that he didn't really want to talk about it.

"He's…" Bill didn't know how to start and paused for a second before continuing, "The day, the day of the accident, when you went to coma and the doctors didn't give you much hope, he lost it. His relationship with Audrey went downhill so fast that it was over before it began. He was just very depressed and not really there." Bill stopped, seeing her get upset.

"Maybe, I should stop, it's not good for you to get like that. I'll let you get some rest."

"No, Mr. Buchannon, I want to hear everything, " she pleaded him to continue.

"Alright," he sighed and continued, "As I said he was really depressed after letting Audrey go, at some point he left his work, too. He said he didn't care if the world ended, we won't save it until you woke up. After his quitting, I haven't kept tabs on his life so much. I know he has led a very self-destructive life with partying, doing drugs and sleeping with random women. That is the Jack Bauer's life of five years, not much..." he stopped cold seeing her grasp for air accompanied with beeping machines. The white coats entering the room shoved him out the door. He started to regret his decision to talk about Jack when he spotted the very man at the end of the hall. He didn't let the fact slip by that Jack has finally shaven and cleaned himself up reminding Bill the Jack he once knew.

"How is she?" he asked concerned.

"Not good, I'm afraid. I got her upset." Bill said regretfully.

"What did you do?" Jack got to his face with a tone full of threats.

"She asked me how you are and I told her about your state of mind for the last five years."

Jack stepped back and started to walk away from Bill. "You shouldn't have done it." he simply said and leaved.

JCJCJC

A week later she was off the machines and there was nothing life-threatening wrong with her health. And she still hadn't wanted to see Jack and Jack had honored her wish.

She had been given sleeping pills and she slept peacefully when he entered her room. He stepped closer, close enough to touch her face, sliding her fingers up and down her cheek.

"I'm sorry that I have do this." He put his one hand under her back and the other under her legs, lifting her from the bed and taking her in his arms.

"Just like five years ago. But this time I will save you. I promise," for a moment he just watched her but then left the room with her.

JCJCJC

A car pulled up in front of a cabin up in the mountains. A man stepped out of the car and opened the passenger door to see a woman sleeping peacefully in the passenger seat even after a long drive from the city. He took her in his arms, closed the door of the car and started towards the cabin. Having reached indoors, he laid her on a couch near the fireplace, having decided to light the fire in it soon. He took his cell from the back pocket of his jeans and dialed a number, waiting for an answer.

"Bill Buchannon," answered a grumpy voice at the other end of the line.

"Bill, listen to me. I took Chloe. She's safe. Don't bother to look for us. I'll get her back by Monday."

"Jack, is that you? What do you mean you _took_ Chloe? Out of the hospital? Are you crazy? She needs medical attention, Jack. She's still very weak, not to mention that she still hasn't fully recovered. Jack, she can't even walk yet."

"She doesn't need to walk here with me. I'll take care of her. Her doctor told me that there is nothing life threatening wrong with her, but he told me that her physical recovery isn't going so well because something psychological is blocking that."

"There are other options to take care of her mental state. You didn't have to kidnap her. Where did you take her?"

"You know I can't tell you that, Bill. I need this time with her," he glanced at her and saw that she was starting to wake up. "Bill, I've got to go." And he hanged up the phone, but not before hearing 'that-son-of-a-bitch' at the other end of the line.

Jack sat down in an armchair next to the couch Chloe was laying on. He got himself sitting comfortably and just looked at her opening her eyes slowly.

She opened her eyes and was surprised that the surrounding wasn't the same white room that she had fallen asleep in. For a moment she feared the worst, that the terrorists had kidnapped her but was relieved of that fear the second her eyes found his. A part of her was so happy to see him, the other part just wanted to cry.

"Jack," she said quietly, "Where am I?"

"Hi, sweetheart, how are you feeling?" asked Jack, obviously ignoring her question.

"Why are you answering a question with a question, "she attacked him, but then paused and changed to more friendlier tone, "I feel a bit fuzzy, but I'm OK."

"Good, I'll make you something to eat, that should give you strength and take away the fuzziness." And Jack began to move to the kitchen when Chloe did something unexpected. Somehow she had managed to get enough strength to grab his arm with both hands and held on to it so tightly that Jack could feel her fingernails in his flesh. But even though he endured pain, he didn't pull away. He simply turned to look at her and was surprised to see her face look so desperate.

"Don't go, "she pleaded with him.

He smiled at her crookedly and complied. He moved to lay down with her and even though the couch wasn't big enough for two people, they fitted in perfectly. He took her in his arms and they both got comfortable, knowing that they probably wouldn't leave it any time soon. It was just then, when she laid her head on him, that she felt the urgent need to cry and didn't hold back anymore, feeling his grip on her tightening even more.


	3. Chapter 3

They had fallen asleep together and had slept all through the night. It's Chloe who opened her eyes first and as she stared at the man sleeping peacefully with his hand wrapped tightly around her, she remembered just how she got there. For a moment she got angry and didn't know whether to hit him awake or try to get to the phone laying on the table, to call somebody for her. But then she realized something, she didn't know where she was and even if she did she would never get to the phone. So had only one option. As her hands weren't free, she used her teeth by biting his ear, making sure, it hurts. It doesn't take a scientist to know what went down next. It all went so fast that before she knew it, he had rolled on top of her and pulled her arms on top of her head. He looked at her with an unreadable face and moved really close to her, his face staying only inches away from hers.

"You don't want to start this with me," he warned and quickly rose from the couch, stood up and started towards the kitchen to make coffee, but stopped cold at her next words.

"I hate you, know that? Why do you have to do this? You have never cared about me and now that I'm sick, you feel guilty and feel the obligation to help me. You and your battered ego. But you know what? I don't want your help. I don't want anything from you. You should have let me die," she had gone from angry to almost tears by the time she finished. She knew that she had gone to a dangerous territory with Jack but couldn't help herself.

Jack listened to her tirade but didn't turn around to face her. For a moment he thought about straightening this thing out with her right away but decided to wait with that till they have both cooled down."I'm going to make some coffee and make you something to eat. I just lost my appetite." With these words he left the room, leaving a miffed Chloe behind.

JCJCJC

When he came back with two cups of coffee and some sandwiches, he put them on the table and said, "Here you go, eat this, you need to get your strength back". Chloe didn't say anything, but complied, knowing that there is no point to fight this. She let Jack help her in a sitting position and started eating. Jack sat in an armchair close by.

When she had finished eating, she started to lay back down but was stopped by Jack who kept her in sitting position. He put aside the dishes and scrunched down to sit on the table in front of the couch.

"I want to discuss your outburst." he said firmly.

"There is nothing to discuss," she got all Chloe-like and frowned, annoyed by where this was going.

"Oh, I think there is. You said you hated me. What would make you say something so absolutely untrue?"

"I do hate you!" she declares.

"No, you don't," and to prove his point, he kissed her gently on the mouth and she didn't kiss him back but didn't pull away from him either.

He then pulled away and looked at her reaction which was pleading.

"Don't do this. You can't do this to me. I know that you are feeling guilty for what happened to me and everything, but…"

Jack cut her off in the middle of her sentence by putting his hand on her mouth.

"Listen to me closely; because I'm only going to say it once," he looked her straight in the eye and continued," I am not here with you because I'm feeling guilty. I'm here because I want to be with you. I'm sorry that it took me you leaving, almost dying and being in a coma for five years to finally get it."

"Get what? Jack, you are not making any sense?"

He kissed her again, this time more forcefully. At first she didn't respond but found herself unable to resist and kissed him back.

Soon they both pulled back to get some air. He remained close to her and whispered, "I love you. I love you more now than I ever have before. The five years without you were hell, and I'm sorry it took me almost losing you to understand that."

"Well, you can be slow sometimes," she responded with a frown that got a chuckle from him. They kissed again, more passionately, more hungrily. The wanting is evident in both of their movements and soon Jack picked her up and took her in the bedroom.

JCJCJC

Hours later, Jack and Chloe were in each other's arms, laying in bed naked, just enjoying each other's company.

"Jack," Chloe decided to break the silence.

"Yeah?"

She rolled on top of him, "I'm sorry that I ran away like that. I know now that it was a horrible mistake and I shouldn't have done that".

Jack was silent at first, not knowing what to say, not wanting to confirm her thoughts."No you shouldn't have." He paused and looked at her seriously but continued with a lighter tone."But maybe I needed this to realize the depth of my feelings for you. But that's not what I was thinking of when I learned about your little stunt."

Chloe threw him a glance full of annoyance and surprise.

"What? You don't think so. Are you really trying to say that you really meant to leave?"

Chloe nods slowly.

"Oh, honey, did you really think I would let you go?!" Jack asked and grinned when her face confirms it. "Even if the escape had been successful, I would have tracked you down and dragged you back. Or stayed with you. But there is no way I would have accepted being without you. What do they say about that...You never know what you got, until it's gone."And with that, he pulled her closer.

There were tears in her eyes now, "I wanted to escape, but not just because I couldn't bear to work with you anymore. Part of me hoped that you would follow me and not because you just need me, but because I'm the one you love and want to be with. I sort of wanted to push you to make a choice between me and Audrey. But it turned out so wrong. I can't imagine what you must have gone through when I fell in coma and the doctors didn't give me much hope."

Chloe looked at him, but he was deep in thought, remembering the fears, emotions and despair that overtook him when the doctors told him that there was a great chance she would never wake up from coma.

"It was like the earth had stopped moving, time just stopped," Jack finally shared his thoughts with her, "I went to see you one last time after that. I was too scared to visit you, I didn't want to accept the truth, and ignoring it was the best way to cope. I couldn't move on and I didn't want to deal with the presence. I guess I just lived in the past. Guilt was just part of the misery. I couldn't help beating myself up for not acknowledging my feelings for you sooner. But all in all, I was just a man in love with a woman who was in coma. So you can throw that theory of me wanting to be with you because of guilt under the bus."

Jack smiled but Chloe didn't appreciate his attempt to make a joke and frowned. Just then she felt the sudden urge to kiss him, which she did, hungrily, wanting to show him that all his suffering was over and she was there with him always.

"I love you," she murmured between kissing him.

"Oh, really, that's good to know," Jack said in a playful tone, "Because I was beginning to think that you want me for just the sex that I'm so good at."

"Arrogant jerk," she muttered and turned her back on him.

Jack just laughed and rolled to her side and took her in his arms.

"I am, but I'm your arrogant jerk," he whispered in her ear. "All of me, it's yours. Never forget it!"

THE END


End file.
